Mark m



(No Model.)

M. M. DECKER. GAR COUPLING.

No. 554,336. Pa/sqnted Feb. 11, 1896.

.Znvenior,

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

MARK M. DECKER, OF \VASl-IINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,336, dated February 11, 1896.

Application filed March 16, 1894.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARK M. DECKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of \Vashington, in the county of Vashington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Oouplings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to that class of carcouplings in which a swinging locking jaw is pivoted in a bifurcated draw-head, and is made to swing inside said head and become locked therein by the impact of the coupling on another car.

My invention consists of an improved carcoupling provided with a swinging lockingjaw mounted in a bifurcated draw-head and a locking and releasing pawl and devices for operating said jaw and pawl.

One form of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the coupling with the parts in the coupled position. Fig. 2 shows a pair of couplings, one in plan and the other in horizontal section, illustrating the parts in the coupled position. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view showing the parts in the uncoupled position. Fig. 4c is an inverted plan view of the locking-j aw, showing the recessed incline therein. Fig. 5 is a perspective side elevation in detail of the pin for holding and operating the locking-pawl, and Fig. (3 is a perspective view of the locking-pawl.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts in the different drawings.

A is a bifurcated draw-head of usual construction; B, the locking-jaw, and C the looking and releasing pawl.

The jaw B is mounted in the head A and pivoted at a. The noticeable features of this jaw are,first, the beveled locking-face Z),which enables the operator to release or unlock the jaw under a greater strain than could otherwise be done, and, second, the recessed incline b in the under side of the jaw, which corresponds with the incline Z) on the lower hingepintle of the head.

The locking and releasing pawl O is hung inside of the bifurcated head A on the pivot c $er1'al No- 503,895. (No model.)

which passes through the top and bottom wall of the head, and is provided at its upper end with an inclined head cl, which corresponds with an incline e, concentric with the pin-hole c in the top of the head A. As can be seen by reference to the drawings, the pawl G, by means of these inclines d and 6, will have a tendency to fall and be held in the locked position at all times, other than when it will be crowded back by the closing or releasing of the locking-jaw B. When said jaw moves in ward, the locking portion f will strike against the pawl O, crowding it back until it reaches a point where the locking portion will have passed the pawl, when said pawl will fall in front of the said locking portion and lock the jaw in the closed position.

The pawl C, as before stated, is provided with a beveled locking-face g, which corresponds with the locking-face b of the lockingjaw B. By means of these beveled lockingfaces I) and g of the locking jaw and pawl the operator is enabled to unlock or release the jaw B under a greater strain than could be done otherwise. The backward or inward movement of the pawl is brought about by a chain, or its equivalent, which may be attached at or near the forward or looking end of the pawl O and passing up through a hole 7L in the top of the head; or an operatinglever may be connected direct with the pivotpin of the locking-pawl O or in any other suitable manner. As soon as the chain or lever is released, the pawl returns to its normal position under the attraction of gravity. The broken lines, Figs. 2 and 3, denote the paths ofthe moving parts-to wit, the lockin g jaw B and pawl O.

The incline b is formed 011 the lower hingepintle of the head, concentric with the pinhole, and the corresponding recessed incline I) is formed in the under side of the locking jaw B, the purpose of these inclines b and I) being to lift the jaw vertically while closing, so that when it is released it will fall int-o the uncoupled position relative to the draw-head.

The operation is as follows: Before coupling, the pawl C is in the position shown in Fig. 2, but the locking-jaw is outside of the drawhead in position to be struck bya corresponding locking-jaw on another car, whether in a locked or unlocked position. As soon as the locking-j aw B is struck by this other coupling, it moves back into the head, crowding the pawl C out of the way until the locking-face b has passed the face g, at which time the lockingj aw B has taken the position shown in Fig. 3. The pawl C, no longer having any pressure upon it, falls back in front of the locking portion of the jaw and looks it in the coupled position, as shown in Fig. 2.

The coupling is unlocked, as before stated, by drawing back on the chain or lever. The

chain is then released and the pawl returns to its normal position.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 

